Johnson, who averaged 47.8 points per game during four seasons with the Braves in the late 80s-early 90s, was the special guest at the Braves' Saturday night clash against the Sandringham Sabres at Bendigo Stadium.

The venue might have grown considerably since the American weaved his magic on the Wigwam - now known as court six - but not much has changed about the man regarded as the greatest shooter to play for the Braves.

Ever-present are the warm smile, engaging personality and pure charm that made him such a hit with Bendigo crowds.

Not gone either is his passion for basketball.

"It (the game) will never leave me," Johnson said.

"I will always stay involved. Right now I have my youth basketball organisation that does camps, clinics and stuff, teaching kids to play this great game of basketball."

There is little Johnson has not achieved or turned his hand to in basketball.

He has been both a collegiate and college coach, a college athletics director and in 2000 founded his own youth organisation, Midwest Sports Challenge (MSC), providing activities for youth in his home town of Colombia and other areas of Missouri.

Johnson has never forgotten his roots. His high school coaching career includes two stints at his former high school, Hickman High School.

He has also never forgotten his Bendigo ties, keeping in contact with several of his former teammates and regularly keeping watch on the Braves’ progress.

"Obviously things are going really, really well," he said of the current team, which leads the league’s east conference with a 19-3 record.

"It's a good time to come back. For me I feel like I am coming back home, seeing all the friends I have.

"It's great being able to catch up with everyone."

Johnson's feat in scoring 70 points in the 1988 SEABL grand final against the Bulleen Boomers are part of the club and league folklore.

While he still has vivid recollections of the game, he said the most memorable moments were the celebrations that followed.

"It was just one of those surreal moments, when you put in so much hard work and you play with a group of guys you admired and enjoyed and it all came to the culmination of winning a championship," he said.

"But probably the celebrations are what stay with me the most - on the court, in the locker room, the bus ride back home to Bendigo. I can remember (singing) the song 'Living in America' by James Brown.

"We were just happy and then coming back and celebrating with the fans of Bendigo - it was so surreal one of the greatest moments of my life."

Johnson, who was last in Bendigo in 1995 for a club anniversary, counts the Braves’ 1989 grand final loss to Ballarat as one of the few disappointments in the game.

But he had no regrets calling time on his Australian career and not trying his had at the NBL, despite the league’s most successful coach Brian Goorjian once dubbing him the “best player to play in Australia that never played in the NBL".

Not that there was any shortage of offers, most notably from the Brisbane Bullets, Geelong Supercats and the then St Kilda and later Westside Saints.

Johnson said he strong endorsement from Goorjian – a coach and person he deeply admired – was among the strongest compliments he had been paid in basketball.

“For him to make a statement like that makes me feel real proud of the things I accomplished,” he said.

“(But) I just felt like I wanted to go home and start doing the other things I wanted do in life, like getting my coaching career going.

“People say I was at the prime of my career then, but I was pretty satisfied with what I accomplished as a player.

“I might have played another, three, four or five years, but I was happy. I’m very content.”